


Belonging

by pterawaters



Series: Coming Home [3]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Developing Relationship, Family, First Time, Kid Fic, Loss of Control, M/M, Post Mpreg, Protectiveness, Season/Series 01, Shooting, Well first time for the second time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-05-05
Packaged: 2018-03-29 02:28:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3878725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pterawaters/pseuds/pterawaters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Steve and Danny try to figure out how to be a family together, their day at a football game gets interrupted by a gang shooting. Danny struggles to control his instinct to protect his kids at any cost, while Steve tries to understand which intimacies he's ready for, and which he isn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Belonging

"C'mon, hurry up," Danny says to his daughter, keeping a tight hold of her hand as they weave through the crowd. "Everyone's already there."

"You're sure Steve and JD will be there?" Grace asks, like she didn't just see them for dinner the night before. And the night before that, and before that.

Danny pats his pocket. "Steve texted me. They've been here for twenty minutes already."

"It's not my fault Mrs. Lee kept talking about sailing," Grace reminds Danny, concerning her tennis instructor. "I don't even like sailing."

"Have you ever been sailing?" Danny asks his daughter, spotting Steve with Chin and Kono in the stands, JD on Steve's lap. 

Grace sticks out her tongue. "Stan took us. I threw up."

Laughing, Danny gives Grace a one-armed hug. "Good girl. Now, let's go get our seats."

The crowd in the visiting-team stand cheers and Kono stands up, yelling abuse at the refs. Danny gets Grace up to the seats Steve and Chin have been saving with their feet and says, "Hey! Sorry we're late."

Grace practically throws herself at Steve, hugging him. "Hi, Steve!"

Steve laughs and accepts the hug. "Hello, Gracie."

Moving on, Grace grabs JD, picking him up from Steve's lap and swinging him around so he giggles. "Hi, JD!"

"Gwace!" JD replies, wrapping his hands around both of Grace's pigtails and pulling on them.

"Well, they sure like each other," Kono says with a laugh. Addressing Grace, she says, "I'm Kono."

Chin taps on Grace's shoulder, saying, "And I'm Uncle Chin!"

Handing JD over to Danny, who takes him gladly, Grace says to Chin, "JD is my brother!"

"Oh, jeez," Danny sighs, rubbing his face with his free hand. "Grace!"

Grace gives Danny wide eyes. "What?"

"JD is your brother?" Kono asks, giving first Danny and then Steve. "Like brother or like _brotha_?"

" _I_ am JD's father," Steve says in what Danny's come to think of as his authoritative voice. Then, with a little shrug, Steve adds, "Danny contributed."

Danny covers JD's ears before crying, " _Contributed_? You make me sound like I chucked a few quarters your way."

"I told you they must've known each other from before," Chin says to Kono. Then he turns to Steve and asks, "So, tell us the story!"

Kono finishes yelling at the ref again and says, "Yeah, tell us the story!"

Steve gives Danny a look, his eyes cutting toward the two kids and he frowns. Danny nods and gets a better grip on JD. "Hey, c'mon, kids. Let's go get some nachos."

"Nachos!" Grace says, jumping up.

Leaving Steve to tell the story, Danny leads the way back down the stands, this time with JD on his hip. He asks JD, "What do you think, buddy? You like nachos?"

"Yeah!" The boy cries, grinning. Danny wonders if he's ever had nachos in his life, or if he's just excited because Grace is excited. 

Danny sort of wants to know what Steve is telling Chin and Kono, but he also knows he can't stand the thought of talking to Grace about how sometimes unattached Alphas hire themselves out to Omegas in heat. He doesn't want her to even entertain the idea until she's at least, like, _sixty_. 

Danny's talking to Grace about how ballpark food is better than country-club food when he spots a guy who pings his bad-guy radar. When someone else brushes past the guy, his shirt gets pulled back far enough to reveal a gun. Instantly, Danny feels like snapping the guy's neck for daring to bring a gun to a high school freaking football game. He also appears to have a friend following two steps behind him.

Danny wants to go after the guys, but with Grace and JD right there, he can't. Shit. What is he going to do?

There. Danny spots an older Omega, holding what's probably her granddaughter's hand. God, he hopes she's trustworthy, or Steve is gonna kill him. "Excuse me," he says, stopping the lady and setting JD down on his feet. Danny takes out his badge and ID, showing them to the lady. "Hey, I'm a police officer, okay? These are my kids Grace and JD. Grace, hold your brother's hand."

"Okay," Grace says, her eyes as big as saucers. 

The lady stammers, "What's-what–"

"I need you to take my kids, and your little girl, and go into the bathroom, okay? Stay there until I come back for you."

"Daddy!" Grace argues, but Danny doesn't have time to argue. He's already lost sight of the guy with the gun. 

"Grace, I need you to look after JD, okay? Protect him and stick with this nice lady. Just for a minute. I have to make sure there's no bad guys."

Grace looks down at JD, who seems very confused, and then back up at Danny, sticking out her chin and nodding her head. "Okay."

"Okay," Danny repeats, urging the whole group of them into the bathroom before turning and heading in the same direction as the guy. He pulls out his phone and speed-dials Steve, relieved when Steve picks up after the first ring.

"Where are my nachos?" Steve asks.

Danny doesn't even bother answering the question. "Hey, I'm right in front of you. Got two guys headed to the field, strapped." God, just the thought of something going down with his kids behind just one concrete wall makes Danny's blood boil. "I think something's about to go down."

"The kids?" Steve asks.

"Safe," Danny insists, stowing his phone back in his pocket without really hanging up, because the bad guy's picked up his pace. 

Danny puts on a burst of speed when the guy's arm moves back toward the gun in his belt. Danny's not really thinking, because his blood is roaring in his ears and everything in his vision fades, except for the motherfucker who decided to put a gun near Danny's kids. A hard tackle brings the guy down, Danny grabbing his gun-arm and breaking it with a growl. 

Two loud gunshots, followed by a succession of others draw Danny's attention, and he looks up to see Steve's taken out a second bad guy, and Chin's chasing after a third. 

Danny loses time for a second, and then Steve is in front of Danny, saying in a low voice, "Let go, Danny. Danny, let go."

Looking down, Danny sees he's got his hands wrapped around his guy's neck and throat. Still, he can't seem to make his hands do anything but squeeze harder. 

"Danny, go find the kids," Steve says, getting in Danny's line of sight. "Where are the kids? You have to find them."

"Right." Danny's hands let go and he's up on his feet, squeezing Steve's shoulder. "Sorry." Danny can't really think about what he's almost done without losing his now-regained composure, so he focuses on the issue at hand: finding the kids.

Jogging back the way he came is harder than Danny anticipates, due to the panicked crowd. Still, most of them must recognize Danny for what he is, because they're pretty good at getting out of the way. He might be growling. 

There's no one in the bathroom where Danny left his kids. Danny's vision starts to go dark at the edges again. "Grace!" He calls out into the crowd. "JD! Grace!"

"Daddy!" Grace's voice cuts through the Alpha-fog and he runs toward it, crouching down when he sees them, still together. 

Danny hugs and kisses both of them, rubbing the back of JD's neck when his lip starts to tremble. "It's okay. Buddy, it's alright."

"Danno," JD cries, throwing his arms around Danny's neck. "Scared me."

"I'm sorry you were scared, kiddo," Danny says, taking both kids back toward Steve. "It's okay now."

Like Danny suspected he would, JD reaches for Steve as soon as he's in sight. It was like this when Grace was small, too, and spending most of her time with Rachel. It makes Danny feel second-best, but he tells himself the only thing he can do to fix it is spend more time with JD. 

"What do we got?" Danny asks Steve and Kono, who's got the guy Danny tackled in handcuffs. 

"Three civilians injured," Steve says, brushing his hand up and down JD's back. "One spectator dead. One shooter dead. And this guy." Steve nods at the man who's handcuffed. To Kono, Steve says, "Get this guy to the EMTs. They'll want to make sure his trachea's intact."

"Danno?" Grace asks, frowning at the man as Kono gets him on his feet. "What's a trachea?"

Danny's face feels hot, and is probably bright red. He hopes to God the Governor's immunity and means covers Danny being unable to reign in his instincts. "You, uh, you don't need to worry about that right now, kiddo."

~*~

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life," Danny cries into his phone, drawing Steve's attention away from the vic Kono's showing him. "Violence _follows_ me? I mean, how do you even come up with something like that?"

Steve winces. From what he can tell when Danny actually feels like talking about it, he and Rachel have a pretty tense relationship to begin with. Steve can only imagine how a situation like this antagonizes that relationship. 

"No," Danny says, shaking his head when he meets Steve's eyes. "What happened here has nothing to do with my job. In fact, it is just the opposite, okay? She is safe because I am a cop!"

Steve sees how riled up Danny's getting, and reaches out to him, trying to ground him or something. Steve's has experience with plenty of Alphas in the field, and the way they can get stuck in aggressive mode. Somehow, Steve never expected to see Danny like that, and now that he has, he's not quite sure how to feel about it. He's not quite sure how to feel about having JD around Danny, if he's being honest with himself.

"Huh?" Danny continues, leaning into Steve's touch. "You know, I can't– I can't even do this right now. She'll be there in ten minutes." 

Danny gets himself under Steve's arm, like he needs a hug and doesn't want to ask for it in the middle of the crime scene with HPD all around them and Rachel on the phone. Steve squeezes Danny's shoulders, and it makes him feel a little bit better about what happened earlier. 

"I sent her with JD's nanny, Mai." Danny huffs and throws his free hand wide, almost socking Steve in the gut. "I checked her out myself, Rachel. She's fine! Very trustworthy, I swear." Danny steps away from Steve and rolls his neck. "Yeah. Goodbye."

Danny scoffs and hangs up the call, shaking his head.

He looks like he could use a joke, so Steve says, "Can't wait to meet your ex."

"Yeah," Danny says, rolling his eyes. "The two of you can plan my demise."

Steve laughs at that, but he catches Danny's gaze, looking Danny right in the eyes. Danny holds Steve's gaze for a long moment, not looking away. "I'm fine," Danny says.

"Yeah, well you weren't fine for a minute there," Steve points out, guiding Danny further away from the others with a hand on Danny's elbow. "Can we talk about this for a second, please?"

Danny gives Steve another long look, but this time he does look away. "Fine." He sighs, playing with his collar, where he's usually got his tie, when it's not the weekend. "I got a little loopy, okay?"

"No," Steve says, keeping his voice low. "Not okay, Danny. You almost killed a guy who was already incapacitated."

Danny bares his teeth and hisses, "He was about to start shooting around _my kids_ , Steven. He could've shot Gracie, or little JD!"

"Not after you tackled him and broke his gun arm, Daniel," Steve replies, frustrated because he's not quite sure where the line is. If Danny was just a soldier under Steve's command, Steve would know how to treat him. If Danny was just a co-worker, Steve would know how to treat him, but he's not. Danny's someone Steve has a _thing_ with. Still, Steve knows he has to speak his mind about this now, before it starts to fester. "They were in more danger with the stranger you left them with, than they were after you brought that guy down."

Danny's nostrils flare and his fists clench as he exhales loudly through his nose. "Have you ever seen a kid shot by a stray bullet from a fire-fight? Because I have."

Steve practically feels himself deflate. He nods. "Yeah. In Afghanistan."

"Then you get it," Danny insists, his posture starting to loosen. "I mean, I get that picture in my head, and I just... " He sighs again, his shoulders slumping. "It's instinct, Steve. I _have_ to protect them."

"I get it," Steve allows, meeting Danny's eyes and giving him a deliberate nod. "I do, I get it. Heat hits me just as hard as any other Omega. But we're more than our instincts, Danny. We have to be."

"I know," Danny says softly, his eyes out on the football field behind Steve's shoulders. With a tiny nod, he says, "I'll work on my exercises. Try to control it better."

"Thanks," Steve says, moving closer into Danny's space, not really caring that there are other people around. Steve offers the hug and Danny takes him up on it, wrapping his broad arms around Steve's torso and sighing as Steve squeezes him. When he finally lets go, Steve says, "Hey, let's get to the bottom of this one quick, so we can go home."

Smirking, though his eyes still look sad, Danny says, "I like the sound of that."

~*~

Danny sits in the boat, drinking the beer Steve hands him and ignoring Joey's screams from over in the shark cage. He's still feeling a little touchy from earlier, like he can't quite trust his senses. Danny doesn't think he's wrong about how much Steve appears to be enjoying himself. He asks Steve, "Is this your idea of a date?"

Steve squints at Danny in the bright sun reflecting off the water. "What?"

"This," Danny says, gesturing to the boat around them. "Open ocean view, drinks, the two of us alone on the boat, torture of a witness..."

"Torture?" Steve asks, like he's offended. 

"Yes, torture." Danny points his beer bottle toward Joey. "I'd say Joey thinks this qualifies."

"After today, I don't really see you having the high ground in this argument, Danny." Steve puts his hands on his hips, like he's trying to be authoritative. 

It doesn't really work with the stupid grin he's got on his face. 

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Danny says, unable to help the fond smile that spreads across his face. 

Steve steps closer to Danny, resting both forearms on Danny's shoulders. "Relax. They're harmless Galapagos sharks. They're not man-eaters."

Joey cries out again, waving his arms at them. "Hey!"

Suppressing an amused chuckle, Danny gestures toward Joey and raises his eyebrows. 

Steve shrugs. "Joey don't know that, though."

Danny can't help but laugh. Steve is so ridiculous, Danny doesn't even know why he likes Steve. But he does. 

Grabbing the front of Steve's shirt, Danny pulls Steve closer and tilts his head up for a kiss. Steve obliges Danny, his aim unerring despite the way their boat rocks on the water. The kiss is pretty great, and Danny has to admit, it settles the anxious feeling that's been in his gut ever since the shooting. It reminds Danny a little bit of his first year with Rachel, and if that isn't telling, he doesn't know what is.

As the kiss breaks, Danny licks the taste of Steve from his lips, savoring it as he says, "We, uh, should go get Joey."

"Yeah," Steve says with a chuckle, though he leans in for another kiss, pressing his body against Danny's. "In a minute."

" _You_ ," Danny says, running a thumb back across Steve's jaw, "are trouble, my friend. So much trouble."

Steve grins. "C'mon. Let's go find out what Joey knows."

Leaving Danny cold, Steve stands up and goes back to the helm of the boat, bringing them back around toward Joey. While Steve drives, Danny does some of the breathing exercises his dad taught him when he was a kid. They're meant to be good for keeping aggression in check, but everyone knows they're also good for willing away inconvenient erections. "You're killing me, Steve," Danny says over the roar of the engines.

The grin Steve gives Danny almost makes up for the teasing.

~*~

Joey leads them to Salvo, which leads them to the rolling casino via Chin and Kono's cousin Sid. Steve calls in a favor and gets one of the expensive convertibles in the HPD impound cleaned up, while he and Danny go and rent tuxes. While Danny is trying on the pants the elderly little shop owner gave him, Steve calls to check in on Mai. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, it's great, Mr. McGarrett," Mai says, her voice sounding happy, which is good because Steve feels kind of bad for calling her in on a Saturday night with no notice. "JD's eating dinner, and I'm just finishing up some of my homework."

"Good," Steve says with a sigh. "I'm hoping we'll only be a few more hours, but I'll let you know."

Steve knows Mai will stay overnight if he asks her to, but he doesn't really want to do that to her. He's really got to work on getting Mary or Deb to move out here. Someone he doesn't mind saddling with family obligations. 

From inside Danny's changing room, Steve hears a death-march ringtone, which makes him snicker. Danny's always doing little things to amuse himself. Steve can't help but be amused by them as well. 

Steve listens as Danny answers the call, "Yes, Lord Vader?"

Hmm, that doesn't sound like Danny's talking to Rachel. Steve has to admit, he's much more curious about Danny's life than he's been about any of his other friends or lovers. He explains it to himself by thinking it's because Danny's in JD's life now. Anything that affects Danny is, inherently, going to affect Steve.

"Is that a joke?" Danny cries, his voice rising into a register that Steve isn't so fond of. "Yeah, over my dead body. Let me explain to you why. She is my daughter too, okay?"

Oh, shit. This is about Grace. 

Danny bursts out of the dressing room, stomping around in his sock feet with his slacks about three inches too long and no tie at his collar. "I don't care. Hey! Hey, listen to me, you _scumbag_! You low-life, miserable, money-suck Hello? Hello?"

Danny's face is all twisted with anger as he turns off his phone and throws it onto one of the couches in the fitting area. "Fucking hell."

"Hey," Steve says, holding his palms out toward Danny. "Hey, breathe, Danny. Tell me what's up."

"Rachel," Danny says, snorting and shaking his head, his fists clenched, "is trying to take me back to court over visitation, because she says that it is not safe for Grace to be around me."

Steve's heart drops. Danny can't lose Gracie. Neither can JD, who already loves her so much, it feels almost like he loves her more than he loves Steve. Steve's head starts spinning, thinking of ways to keep this from happening. 

"Like the football shooting was my fault." Danny closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. After he lets it out, while his eyes are still closed, Danny says, "You gotta distract me, Steve. Give me something else to think about, because I'm not sure I can–"

Steve does the first thing he can think of and kisses Danny, putting his hands heavily on Danny's hips to help ground him. As Steve breaks the kiss, he asks, "Like that?"

"Yeah," Danny says, his eyes still closed, but his hands on Steve's shoulders. "Yeah, that works."

"You mess up my suits, boys," the shop owner says in an unamused voice, "you gotta buy, not rent."

Chuckling, Steve steps away from Danny. He straightens his tie and asks, "How do I look, Danno?"

Danny looks Steve up and down and swallows as he nods. "Good. You look good, babe."

"Good?" the shop owner says with a chuckle. "Good enough for Alpha Quarterly, I'd say." 

It takes Steve a moment to realize the shop owner is talking about Steve. He thinks Steve is an Alpha. It makes Steve wonder if the shop owner also assumes Danny is an Omega, or if he just doesn't care about Alpha men dating Alpha or Beta men. "Thanks," Steve says to the guy, before turning back to Danny. "You need shorter pants."

"Yeah, you think?" Danny says with a huff, though he doesn't look as close to murder as he did a minute ago. "You got anything in my _actual_ size?"

"No," the shop owner says, directing Danny up onto the stage thing in front of the three-fold mirror. "These fit. Just need to hem."

Steve takes a moment to admire the way the pants cling to Danny's ass. "You know, it's a shame you're going to be wearing a coat over these."

Danny's reflection catches Steve's eye and he raises his eyebrows. "Yeah?" Danny asks, grinning at Steve until the tailor smacks his arm.

"Hold still, Detective!"

Danny holds still, but he's still smiling, biting his lower lip. Steve hopes tonight goes well, because he has plans forming around these suits ending up on his bedroom floor.

Big plans.

~*~

As they drive toward the casino address Sid gave them, Steve asks Danny, "So what are you going to do about your ex, man?"

Danny sighs, tapping his knuckles against the dash absentmindedly. He's not quite sure how much of this he wants to share with Steve. He hopes to everything in the universe that he and Steve will never end up in court over who gets to see JD when. "I don't know," Danny says with a shake of his head. "Until you told me about JD, Grace was my entire life. I still…" Jesus. Danny can't quite get the words to come out.

"What?" Steve asks, putting his hand on Danny's thigh. "What is it, Danno?"

Danny puts his hand over Steve's and says, "This is still new, you know? Us? If this blows up, Grace is the only person I'll have left. Without her, I'd be entirely alone."

Steve doesn't argue the point, exactly. Not the way Danny half-wishes Steve would. Instead, he says, "I know the stakes of this, Danny. I know. Without you and JD, all I'd have left is my job. I'm not sure I want to live that way anymore."

"Says the guy who's out undercover, instead of home with his kid." Danny chuckles sadly. "Like I'm not doing the exact same thing. Let's get this over with."

When Steve pulls up to a light, there's a convertible full of young women stopped at the light next to them. Danny has to admit, his eye wanders toward them a little bit, especially when one of them smiles over at him.

Steve gives Danny a look and says, "Really?"

Danny's face heats up. He looks straight ahead and says, "Sorry, babe."

The girl beside them laughs and calls out, "Oooh, someone's in trouble!"

When the light turns green, Steve peels away from the intersection, the car giving a powerful growl underneath them.

Trying to defend himself, Danny says, "They were pretty, Steve. You're telling me you didn't appreciate how pretty they were?"

"I wasn't looking," Steve says, his tone clearly implying that Danny shouldn't be looking either. 

"They weren't half as pretty as you, though," Danny insists, afraid he's stepped on a landmine he didn't know was there. "Mr. AQ in that James Bond tux. You look amazing, Steve."

Steve grins and says, "Now, was that so hard?"

Danny realizes Steve has been playing him. Steve has been playing him and Danny has allowed it. Scoffing loudly, Danny cries, "You are such a jerk, McGarrett. I hate you."

"Nah, you love me," Steve says, pulling up to the mansion where tonight's rolling casino is being held. 

Danny doesn't reply. It might be true that Danny loves Steve. It might be true that Danny's probably loved Steve since first knotting him, since Danny hasn't been with anyone since. It still feels too early to say it out loud.

They go into the undercover op and it's going pretty well, until someone starts making noise about his and Steve's aliases. Then the bad guys have Sid and they're about to kill them and Danny and Kono are the only ones in position to distract Salvo's guys long enough to keep Sid alive.

Danny hopes Steve doesn't kill him for this, but he grabs Kono and asks, "Play along, huh?"

Kono nods and pulls Danny closer, walking backward next to the pool and giggling as she pulls him into a kiss. It's more real and less stage-kiss than Danny was expecting, but he goes with it, trying to make it look good. Danny's never seriously dated a Beta like Kono. He's pretty much stuck to Omegas his whole life. The lack of pheromones is different, and not the greatest, but Danny plays up his enjoyment as he and Kono stumble against the bushes, acting drunk.

The ruse works and they're able to take down Salvo and his men, without losing Sid. It's a good night. 

Still, Danny wipes his lips off on his jacket, wanting to replace Kono's taste with Steve's. Danny's eyes might wander from time to time, but he knows now that he can't stand the thought of being with anyone but Steve. He's sure Steve will be relieved.

~*~

Steve leaves Kono to coordinate with HPD, but drags Danny with him back toward the car they've borrowed from impound. The night is clear and warm, and as Steve drives home, he breathes in the sweet air and sighs.

"Good night?" Danny asks, his head tilted back against his headrest, exposing his neck.

Steve turns his gaze back to the road so he doesn't get distracted. "Yeah," Steve replies. "Turned out good. Hoping it'll get even better."

"Yeah?" Danny asks, sitting back further, his legs spread apart, and Steve can't tell if it's purposely meant to entice him or if Danny's just getting comfortable. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Stay over?" Steve asks, stealing a glance at Danny. "Please?"

Danny smiles, his limbs still all loose and relaxed. "Yeah, sure, babe. I can stay."

Steve's heart skips a beat and his mouth suddenly feels dry. He wants this, he wants Danny, but they haven't had sex since Steve's last heat, three years ago. Steve's been with his friend Catherine a couple of times since then, just to blow off steam, but this is Danny. It's special.

What if Steve screws it up? What if sex with him not in heat is so different that Danny dumps him? What if he and Danny end up in court, fighting over custody of JD? 

Beside him, Danny laughs and asks, "What's with the aneurysm face?"

"I don't have aneurysm face," Steve insists, getting better control over his facial expression. "I'm just…" God, Steve doesn't want to admit this.

"What?" Danny asks with a chuckle, reaching over and putting his hand on the back of Steve's neck.

Steve relaxes into Danny's grip. Steve knows Danny, if not completely, than much better than he did three years ago. "I guess I'm, I don't know, nervous."

Danny laughs. "You? Mr. Super SEAL? You're nervous?"

"Yes, Danny, okay?" Steve huffs, easing up on the gas pedal when he notices he's going too fast. "I'm nervous."

"Okay."

Danny goes silent, but smiles at Steve, and the tension in the car drops away. It helps that Danny keeps rubbing Steve's neck like that.

Steve parks the car in his driveway and leads the way to the front door, Danny close behind him. He waves Danny off, but just for the moment, because Mai is still in the house, and she doesn't need a show, the poor thing. Steve opens the door and calls out quietly, "Mai?"

Mai pokes her head around the corner from the kitchen, saying, "Welcome home. JD's been asleep for hours." Her eyes go wide when a Danny steps through the door. "Good evening, Mr. Williams. I hope– I mean, Mrs. Edwards didn't seem very happy when I dropped Grace off this afternoon."

"It's fine, Mai. Thank you," Danny says, his cheeks ruddy and Steve can't tell if Danny's embarrassed, or anticipating what's going to happen as soon as Mai leaves.

"Yes, thank you, Mai," Steve says, ushering her back toward her things so she can start gathering them. "Are you okay getting home by yourself?" Steve asks her, like he always does when Mai has to stay late.

Like always, Mai says, "I have my car, and I'll text you when I get home." She smiles and finishes putting her papers and computer in her bag. 

"Good." Steve shows Mai to the door, Danny hovering in the living room, like he isn't here almost every evening anyway. "Get some sleep. We'll see you Monday afternoon."

Locking the door behind Mai, Steve reaches for the foyer lightswitch, but doesn't quite reach it before Danny is on him, drawing Steve down into a searing kiss. Steve closes his eyes, melting into the kiss. 

The insides of Steve's eyelids seem too bright, but that could just be his body's reaction to the way Danny grips Steve's face as they kiss. Danny's fingers fan back over Steve's jaw, his thumbs stroking Steve's cheeks. Danny's lips are hard, insistent, and thorough, but not so rough that Steve feels like Danny's trying to take control. 

Steve loves that about Danny. 

Blood surging, the low-level desire that's been building in Steve all day finally breaking free, Steve pushes at Danny, heading for the stairs. They miss and hit the wall beside the stairs, but that's good too, because it means Steve can press his cock against Danny's stomach and actually get some friction. "Fuck, Danny."

"Yeah," Danny says, pushing Steve's jacket from his shoulders and starting in on Steve's shirt buttons. "Want this, Steve. Want to knot you."

Steve's knees go weak at the suggestion. Still, he's not quite sure he's ready for that sort of intimacy, especially when he's not in heat and ready to beg for it. "Soon," he tells Danny, getting Danny's tie undone. "Need to take it a little slower, baby."

"Oh," Danny says, stopping and meeting Steve's eyes.. "Yeah, good." Nodding with his head resting against Steve's cheek, Danny says, "Whatever you want, Steve. Just want _you_."

That admission has Steve's body on fire, and maybe he is getting wet enough that a knot would feel good, but right now, Steve just wants Danny naked and under him. Steve kisses Danny again, licking at Danny's tongue as he unbuttons Danny's shirt and pushes it off. 

"Bedroom?" Danny asks when Steve breaks away to catch his breath. "Not that wall sex isn't entertaining, but…"

"Yeah," Steve says, breathless. He takes Danny's hand and leads him up the stairs to the bedroom. He switches on the light in the adjoining bathroom, but leaves off the bedroom lights. Steve wants to see Danny, but darker lighting seems safer, somehow. 

And Jesus, Danny's already stripped down, pulling off his last sock. Danny's body is shorter than Steve's, but he's wide and stocky-solid, especially in his shoulders and thighs. Danny's chest is covered in coarse blonde hair that Steve can't help but reach for, running his hands up through it. 

"Mm," Danny says, his eyes dropping halfway shut. He pushes Steve's shirt off, then drops his hands to Steve's belt, undoing it with surprising competence. "'m gonna take such good care of you, babe."

Content to let Danny be the one who does the talking, Steve groans and leans forward, pressing his lips to Danny's neck. Steve's pants fall around his ankles and then he's helping Danny push his boxers down, while still trying to suck a hickey into Danny's skin.

"Fuck, Steve," Danny groans, his hands back at Steve's hips and pulling Steve close, their cocks lining up and rubbing against each other.

"Yes," Steve sighs, kissing Danny and wrapping his arms around Danny's shoulders. "Want this. Want you like this."

Danny cants his hips, his cock dragging down the length of Steve's and then back up. Danny's shorter than Steve, and though his cock is slightly bigger, the tip only reaches midway up Steve's cock. It's not good enough. 

Steve backs up against the bed, throwing himself back onto it and reaching out for Danny. "C'mon!"

Danny stands at the edge of the bed, licking his lower lip. "God damn, Steve," Danny says, putting one knee on the mattress, and then the other. "I could knot you for days. _Weeks_."

Steve shudders, his hole throbbing and clenching at the thought. Still, he told Danny he wanted to take this a little slower, and he does. Knotting outside a heat is important. Within a heat, it's a necessity, but outside of it, knotting feels sacred. Well, Steve assumes it would be. He's never actually experienced it for himself. 

"Just get over here," Steve insists, reaching forward to grab Danny's hand. He settles Danny on top of him, Danny's thighs between Steve's and Danny's cock lined up snug right next to Steve's. "Like this," he says, rocking his hips up against Danny. It's good, but it's too dry, the friction against his cock too rough. Steve says, "Wait," and reaches over into his nightstand drawer. 

The tube of slick Steve pulls out isn't fancy. It's not Omega scented or anything, since Steve only uses it while jerking off. Still, it'll do the job tonight. 

Steve squirts some of the lube into his hand and then reaches down between his chest and where Danny's holding himself up on thick arms. Steve gets his hand around Danny's cock and pushes down before pulling up.

"Fuck," Danny cries, resting his head down against Steve's shoulder.

Spreading the lube over his own cock, Steve hisses, "Shh! Don't wake up JD!"

Danny chuckles softly. "Right. Sorry."

Then Steve gets his hands out of the way and Danny starts rocking his hips, gliding his cock against Steve's, making Steve's whole body light up. Steve shivers and groans softly. "Do that again, baby."

"Yeah, no problem," Danny says, rocking his hips again. Danny is a reassuring weight on Steve's stomach and chest, which is great because Steve feels almost like he could float away. 

Steve spreads his legs a little further and draws his legs up, planting his feet on the mattress to get better leverage. He thrusts up against Danny in rhythm and groans. "Yeah. Oh, fuck."

"Let me see you," Danny says, his breath harsh with exertion. He looks up at Steve with dark eyes, his hair falling over his forehead as he moves, thrusting hard against Steve, each delicious inch of Danny's cock sliding against Steve's. "C'mon, babe. Wanna make you feel so good. Wanna see you come. God, you're so beautiful, babe."

Steve laughs, because he's not the kind of Omega who gets called beautiful on a regular basis. Still, Steve pushes his hips up against Danny faster and faster until he stutters and loses his rhythm. With a low groan, Steve throws his head back and comes.

"Oh, shit," Danny hisses, and then his hips still and his cock jumps against Steve's stomach and cock, spurting more of a mess between them. While it took Steve only a second or two to finish coming, Danny's orgasm continues on and on until Steve's practically drenched and Danny collapses down onto him. "Fuck," Danny says with a sigh.

Danny rolls off of Steve and reaches down, wrapping his hand around the base of his cock. It takes Steve a moment to realize Danny must be putting pressure on his knot to help finish off his orgasm. Steve wishes he would've thought to do that for Danny. Oh, well. Next time. 

"You good?" Steve asks softly, kissing Danny's shoulder. 

Danny sighs before letting out a half-hysterical giggle. He lets go of his cock and runs his hand up Steve's soaked belly. "Yeah, Steve. I'm good. I'm really, really, very–"

Steve cuts Danny off by kissing him thoroughly, his tongue licking into Danny's mouth. Steve laughs into the kiss, saying against Danny's lips, "I think I need a towel."

"Yeah," Danny says, looking down at his own come-covered stomach. "Sorry about that."

"It's good," Steve assures Danny, leaning his temple against Danny's shoulder. "I just always forget how _much_ Alphas produce. Like, I mean is this really necessary?"

Chuckling, Danny rolls off the bed and heads toward the bathroom, coming back with the towel Steve left hanging after his shower that morning. God, that shower feels about forever ago. Steve could probably use a new one. 

Still, Steve takes the towel Danny gives him, wiping off as best he can and settling back down into the pillows after handing it back. Danny wipes himself off as well, before throwing the towel into the bathroom and scooping his boxers up off the floor. Too concerned to bitch about the towel on the floor, Steve asks, "Aren't you staying?"

Danny gives Steve a look, before rolling his eyes. "Of course I'm staying, babe. I just remember what it's like, sleeping in a house with a two-year-old." Danny picks up Steve's underwear from the floor and holds them out to him. 

"Yeah, that's a good point," Steve says, taking the underwear and putting them on. 

When Danny gets back in bed wearing his boxers and nothing else, Steve feels his muscles relaxing and his heartbeat slowing. When Danny shoves his face between Steve's shoulder blades and throws an arm over Steve's waist, Steve's eyelids begin to droop. He thinks about asking Danny how he could possibly be comfortable lying in that position, but Steve falls asleep before he can get the words out.

~*~

Danny wakes up in the morning with sun half in his eyes, which is quickly blocked by a small head. “Danno?”

“JD?” Danny asks, blinking away sleep and sitting up so the sun coming through Steve’s bedroom window is no longer in his eyes. There is, in fact, a child standing next to the bed in his pajamas. “Hey, buddy.”

“Daddy?” JD asks, going up on his toes to look over Danny.

The other side of the bed is empty, but still warm. Sleepily, Danny swings his legs over the edge of the bed and reaches for JD. “C’mon, kiddo. Let’s go find your Daddy.”

Danny doesn’t realize he’s not wearing a shirt until JD starts tugging on his chest hair. “Ow,” Danny says, untangling JD’s fingers. “Let’s not start in on that, okay, buddy?”

“Soft,” JD says, pulling his hand out of Danny’s and going back for more. At least this time he pets his hand over the hair instead of pulling. “Danno so soft.”

“Ha, yeah.” Danny shifts JD to his hip and holds him with one arm, so the other is free to hold onto the railing as he staggers downstairs in search of Steve. “You sleep good?” he asks JD, just for the sake of conversation.

JD nods. “Mai was here.”

“She was,” Danny agrees, bumping his nose against JD’s baby-soft cheek. “She has to put you to bed sometimes, doesn’t she?”

“Danno do it.” JD’s tone is not to be argued with, which makes Danny chuckle.

Shrugging, he says, “I’ll try, okay? If Daddy and I don’t have to work tonight, I’ll tuck you in.”

JD smiles, leaning his head against Danny’s shoulder and wrapping his arms loosely around Danny’s neck.

God, Danny lives for this. He loves Grace with all his heart, but she’s not nearly as snuggly as JD anymore, unwilling to be cuddled for more than the length of a movie. JD, on the other hand, is still happiest while held in someone’s arms. 

They find Steve in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee and staring out the window at the ocean. Danny clears his throat to get Steve’s attention, which does make Steve turn his head toward them. A beautiful smile spreads across Steve’s face. “Hey! There are my boys!”

Danny’s heart clenches at the thought of being considered one of Steve’s boys, like they’re already the family Danny aches for them to be. After the night before, it definitely feels like they’re one big step closer. “Mornin’,” Danny says, reaching for Steve as he stands up from the table.

Steve gives Danny a smile and a quick kiss before turning to JD and asking, “What’s for breakfast this morning, J?”

“Pancakes!” JD cries, throwing his arms up. “Pancakes, Daddy!”

Steve puts on a very serious face and asks JD, “Would that be blueberry or chocolate chip, sir?”

Danny laughs, but JD answers in a very serious tone as well. “Choco chip.”

“You got it, buddy.” Steve bops JD on the nose, then meets Danny’s eyes. “You in the mood for anything in particular, Danno?”

Danny can’t help himself. He looks Steve up and down and says, “Well, now that you mention it…”

Steve raises his eyebrows, chuckling slightly. “Oh, really?” He holds his hands out and takes JD from Danny. “Maybe what Danny really needs is a shower, hey?”

JD nods, then points at Danny. “Danno fuzzy, Daddy. Feel!”

Though Danny thinks for sure Steve will beg off, instead he reaches forward and runs a hand through Danny’s chest hair. His fingers glide over one of Danny's nipples which can't be an accident, and Steve grins as he says, "Wow, JD. You're right! Danno is soft. Really, really–"

"Enough," Danny says, batting Steve's hand away, though he can't help the way his lips try to smile traitorously. "I'll go get dressed. Save me some pancakes, would you?"

"Sure," Steve says, his smile so god damn beautiful that Danny has to look away before he spends all day staring.

As Danny leaves to go shower, he gives in and looks back at Steve and JD in the kitchen. He thinks the only thing that would make this picture better would be Grace sitting at the table, telling Steve just how many chocolate chips are the appropriate number for each pancake. This feels like family, like _home_ , and it's something Danny hasn't really had for a long time. 

Danny has missed this.

He's missed this so much his heart aches with the weight of it, and he has to catch his breath and step away. It's a good ache, though, and Danny starts counting the days before it's finally appropriate to ask Steve if he can move in officially.

Danny figures he's just got to do a good job not screwing things up in the mean time. Danny's had lots of practice being a good dad, a good co-parent, and a good partner. He knows (or at least he thinks he knows) what he did wrong when he was with Rachel, and maybe Steve also being a cop will help with some of that. Or maybe it'll make things worse. All Danny knows is that he's not going to give this up without one hell of a fight.

Just like he's not going to give up his visitation with Grace without one hell of a fight.

~*~

Monday mornings are one of the few times Danny gets to see Grace during the week, when he takes her to school. After everything that happened on Saturday with the shooting and the call from the lawyer, and then the complete silence from Rachel on Sunday, Danny's not quite sure what he's going to do. Eventually he decides to show up to the house as normal, and hope that he doesn't have to spend the rest of his day arguing with the lawyer. 

When he gets to the gate and presses the buzzer, Rachel answers, "Hel–"

Danny doesn't let her get far. "Rachel, just hear me out," he begins before going into this big, well-rehearsed speech about how he's the best dad Grace could ask for and about how Rachel can't take Grace away from him. "That little girl is my life. So I am asking you, I am begging you, Rachel, to please, please, just be kind and don't take her away from me." Danny sighs, feeling wrung out and raw. "That's all."

A voice that is clearly not Rachel says, "I will get Ms. Rachel, sir."

Danny just about punches himself in the face. How the hell is he going to replicate that speech? How the hell didn't he notice he wasn't talking to Rachel? This is ridiculous.

When someone does come to the intercom, it's still not Rachel. "Detective Williams, this is Rachel's counsel." Holding his fists in check and doing his breathing exercises as best he can, Danny says, "Yeah, will you put Rachel on, please?"

The bastard just replies, "That won't be necessary.

Danny's going to do it. He's going to cave that asshole lawyer's face in. "Don't tell me what's necessary, just do what I tell you to do."

"Rachel's dropping the petition," the lawyer says, and Danny's just about sure his heart has stopped.

"She's what?"

"She's decided not to fight you for visitation."

And just like that, the Edwards' gate opens and Grace comes running down the driveway, shouting, "Daddy!"

Grace is a vision, salvation and light in a tiny little pig-tailed package. Blinking back tears of relief, Danny crouches down to catch her, saying, "Hi, Monkey!" He hugs her hard, muttering, "God," under his breath, like a thank you.

"Guess what?" Grace asks with a smile, and it's like she doesn't even know Rachel was going to fight for sole custody. Danny's grateful for that. It always affects Grace the worst when he and Rachel aren't getting along. 

Danny lets Grace's words wash over him as he drives her to school and he thinks about what could've made Rachel change her mind. Attributing it to his speech doesn't seem logical, because there's nothing saying Rachel heard anything other than a second-hand account. Plus, there wasn't much time between the housekeeper leaving the intercom and the lawyer telling Danny Rachel was dropping the petition. It had to have been a decision already made.

After getting in a few more hugs and dropping Grace off at school, Danny goes over the problem again. What could've, in such a short time, changed Rachel's mind? He pulls up to HQ, looking at the most ostentatious building he's ever worked in and a thought occurs to Danny. What if Rachel had some help making her decision? Some particularly powerful help?

It's only been an hour since Danny left the house that morning, but Danny still gets a thrill in his gut when he sees Steve standing in his office, talking to Chin and Kono. Danny joins them and they talk about the fallout from their last case, and what's going to happen to Chin and Kono's cousin, Sid.

Then the others leave, but Danny sticks behind, drawing close to Steve and making him stand still with a hand on Steve's arm. "Let me ask you something."

Steve chuckles and says, "You can come over tonight, Danny. You don't have to ask."

Smiling at the welcome, Danny shakes his head. "Did you speak to the governor about my custody issue?"

"Governor doesn't discuss her business with me," Steve says, like Danny can't read all over Steve's face that he's neck deep in Danny's business here. Danny raises his eyebrows and a second later, Steve caves, saying, "I might have heard something about Step-Stan building a new hotel, though. You need government approval for that."

Danny gapes at Steve for a moment before he can't keep his hands to himself any longer. He doesn't even care that his pride should be wounded that Steve's doing this sort of favor for him, Danny grabs Steve's face and kisses him, right there in Steve's office. "Thank you," Danny says, before pressing another kiss to Steve's lips. "God, thank you, Steve."

The tips of Steve's ears go red, but he nods and clears his throat. "You're, uh, you're welcome, Danno." He smiles and puts his hand on the side of Danny's neck. "That's what family does, right?"

"Right," Danny says, and he feels like he'll probably be grinning for the rest of the day. Steve thinks of Danny and Grace as family. This thing between Steve and Danny is real, and Danny had the proof, sitting there in the car on her way to school not half an hour ago. "Family," he says, caressing the word with his lips and then pressing those same lips back to Steve's.

"Yo," Kono says from the doorway, "you guys gotta see this."

Danny lets Steve be the first one out the door, both because he knows Steve likes showing that he's in charge here at work, and also because Danny likes watching Steve's ass in action. Kono brings them to the conference room, and instead of a case, there's a football game up on the screen. Curious, Danny asks, "What are we watching?"

Addressing Steve more than Danny, Chin says, "Kukui put all the old games online."

"You just got sacked, boss," Kono adds with a grin.

Danny turns his attention to the screen and sees a young player with "McGarrett" written across the top of his jersey, number 50. Huh. Danny wonders what Steve was like back then, probably the only Omega on the team, and playing quarterback. He must've been so stubborn, and so tough, and so hard-working to earn that position. Danny kind of loves him for it.

Steve explains that his jersey number isn't 50, it's five-oh. "It's what my dad used to call our family, because we weren't native Hawaiian, so he nicknamed us 'Five-oh's after the 50th state in the Union- I don't know. It was his way of making us feel like we belonged someplace, I guess."

"Hmm," Danny says, pulling his eyes away from Steve and back to the twenty-year-old football game. He likes the concept. He hasn't felt like he belonged here he Hawaii until he found Steve again, and then got transferred to the task force. Now, things are different. Danny feels different. Happier. 

Steve smiles at Danny from across the room, and Danny thinks Steve must be feeling it too.

[](http://pterawaters.tumblr.com/post/118162439009/belonging-on-ao3-8448-words-e-complete-by)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm over [on tumblr](http://pterawaters.tumblr.com/), if you want to say hi :)


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